"Hiratsuka-sensei, there's no need. I can handle it on my own."
When the teacher suggested finding someone to help, Yukino immediately refused. If it was something she could do by herself, why should she need assistance—especially from a boy she had known for less than two days?
"Yukinoshita, this kind of physical work should be left to men. After all, his luck is so… good…"
You were definitely about to say bad, weren't you?!
Haizaki silently filled in the word that Shizuka had almost let slip.
"Don't look so hesitant. Helping a beautiful girl—isn't that the gentlemanly thing a man like you should do?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand, signaling that Haizaki was not allowed to refuse at this moment. Her trademark glare was a clear threat, as if to say that if he dared to decline, there would be consequences.
"Just cleaning up?" Haizaki let out a sigh.
Consider it repayment for Shizuka's kindness in his previous life.
After the catastrophe of the apocalyptic disaster, he had planned to repay the help she had given him in high school after graduating from university—but there had never been another chance.
"Besides cleaning, what else do you want to do?" Hiratsuka Shizuka replied irritably.
"Then let's go."
Haizaki stood up.
Shizuka hadn't expected this exchange student from the Eastern Union to agree so decisively, without putting up more resistance.
But that was fine.
"Very good, kid. I have high hopes for you."
With an air like an elder, she patted Haizaki on the shoulder and smiled in satisfaction.
"Yusuke, I'm the teacher in charge of life guidance. If you run into any problems in daily life, you can come to me. Living alone in a foreign country isn't easy. You should study hard here and get along well with your classmates…"
The words sounded nagging, but coming from Shizuka, Haizaki could feel the sincerity behind them.
If he truly went to her for help, she would definitely lend a hand.
His previous life had already proven that.
"Sensei… how do you know my name?" Haizaki asked.
He wanted to confirm whether Shizuka had looked at his file that morning. If so, it would overlap with the file in her office in the Solitary Apocalypse.
"The school has a student recruited from the Eastern Union. As a teacher, how could I not know?"
"So you've looked at my file, then?"
"Ha… ahaha…"
About personal files—
Most people feel uncomfortable knowing their personal information has been reviewed. Not knowing is one thing; knowing is another.
"Don't worry about it so much. I just skimmed it a bit this morning. Rest assured, I'm the only one who's seen it. As a life guidance teacher, I need to understand my students' basic situations—especially a foreign exchange student like you. That said, your Japanese is really good."
If not for the photo in the file confirming Haizaki's identity, Hiratsuka Shizuka would never have thought this fluent Japanese-speaking boy was an exchange student.
"I studied it before."
At this point, Haizaki was basically certain about the situation between the two worlds. The Solitary Apocalypse was very likely the second timeline of the original world.
In other words—the future.
The reality laid out before him inevitably weighed on his mind.
"Don't look so troubled. It's just a file. If it really makes you uncomfortable, I'll apologize."
"No, it's fine. I don't mind the file."
"Then what do you mind?"
Shizuka leaned closer, smiling slightly as she pointed toward Yukino walking ahead, and whispered,
"Yukinoshita is quite hard to get close to. If you've really fallen for her, you'll need to work hard."
Hiratsuka-sensei, since when did you become so gossipy?
Or is it that all women have a gossiping heart?
What surprised Shizuka was that the boy from across the sea didn't show embarrassment or immediately deny it.
That was unexpected.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, may I ask—does your husband also work at Sobu High?"
Haizaki's tone was calm, as if he were asking out of pure ignorance, but the faint amusement in his eyes did not escape Shizuka.
Even a transfer student who had been at Sobu High for only two days knew she was an unmarried older woman. Did that mean her reputation had spread all the way to Tokyo—and even to the Eastern Union?
She didn't dare imagine it.
"You little—"
She clenched her teeth, wanting to retaliate with her iron fist, but reconsidered. This was the hallway, and there were other students around. It wouldn't look good.
"Oh, so you're not married yet? I'm sorry—truly sorry. I must have guessed wrong. I thought that a woman as charming as you, Hiratsuka-sensei, would surely have been successfully pursued by a man long ago."
Acting. He was still acting.
On the surface it sounded like praise, but in reality he was mocking her.
This kid—he's good.
In the end, even with her fists clenched, Shizuka didn't resort to violence.
Soon they arrived at the classroom filled with stored junk. At that moment, Hiratsuka Shizuka once again patted Haizaki on the shoulder with "kind intentions."
Each pat carried more force than the last.
"Strong body, solid build. Looks like you train properly. Leaving the moving and organizing of desks and chairs to you was indeed the right choice."
The recoil from Haizaki's body made Shizuka realize that his physical condition was quite good.
Even sturdier than she had imagined.
Yes—very suitable for manual labor.
"Yukinoshita, you handle the cleaning. As for me… I still have things to do, so I'll be leaving now…"
With a perfectly reasonable expression, Shizuka turned around and fled, not giving Haizaki or Yukino a chance to speak.
"If Yusuke-san has something else to do, you're free to leave."
Yukino wasn't the type to force others. Haizaki had only come to help because of Shizuka's coercion. Now that the teacher was gone, she gave him another choice.
"Should we clean first, or move the desks and chairs?"
Haizaki looked around at the scattered desks inside the room and spoke.
"Let's organize the desks first. I'll go get the cleaning tools…"
Seeing this, Yukino said nothing more.
Her lack of communication didn't mean she lacked experience dealing with people.
Whether or not Haizaki truly wanted to help, his actions were ultimately helping her.
For that, Yukino was grateful.
"Alright…"
Haizaki rolled up his sleeves and began moving the desks and chairs.
The workload wasn't small—but not overwhelming either.
If Yukino had done this alone, with her physical strength, she would probably have been exhausted just from moving the furniture.
This was something Haizaki remembered clearly—her lack of stamina.
He truly didn't know how Yukino in his previous life had managed to handle the moving by herself.
Or perhaps Hiratsuka Shizuka had found someone else to help.
…